This has been a long post in the making and possibly the last post here. After over 5 years of writing this blog, we are currently in the process of closing down the Brand Experience Lab and determining how to split up everything between the partners. While the economy certainly played a role in this decision, there were also internal differences about the future strategic direction of BEL and the AudienceEntertainment spin-off of the in-cinema work that originated at BEL. I'm very disappointed by this development, but I wanted to let you know I'll be going back to my consulting work while options are being examined for final BEL disposition. And who knows, maybe one day, the Brand Experience Lab will rise from the ashes again, like the mythical Phoenix!

"These days, many of us are so focused on the day to day that we lose sight of the incredible need to focus on future possibilities. David makes you see the world through a different set of lenses and imagine new ways to think and grow. The endless opportunities for business growth spew from this man's incredible creative mind in unimaginable ways. He is a talent you simply have to experience." Mort Goldstrom, from the Newspaper Association of America.

I have received many supportive notes from people asking me what's happening next and how to reach me. As the founder of Brand Experience Lab, I can assure you that I will continue with the spirit of Lab, wherever I go in the future. I'm exploring a number of new opportunities and until I settle down, please e-mail or call me on my cell. In the coming weeks, I'll be re-launching my blog and getting ready to announce a number of new partnerships and initiatives.

Creating brand experiences is just as important today, if not even more so, then when the Lab started almost 7 years ago. In a world of social media and instant connections, brands need to have authentic, relevant and compelling brand experiences in order for the consumers to want to engage with them.

While I explore my next steps, I will:

* Continue to be your source for the emerging technologies that you can use to create brand experiences. This includes cutting-edge technology experiences like group games, augmented reality and ubiquitous computing.
* Consult with brands & agencies on creating great, oneline brand experiences and help brands audit their experiences to see how they can be improved. This includes brand ideation and storytelling charettes.
* Make presentations about emerging technologies or the importance of brand experiences. I will also continue doing experience walking tours in NYC. Other experience tours can be developed to meet your needs.
* Continue exploring the socialization of physical place and how offline interactivity can be used by brands as part of the experience strategy.

When we launched the Lab in 2003, it was one of the few, if not the only, R&D facilities in the advertising industry. Today, more & more agencies are creating in-house labs to explore the breadth of emerging technologies out there. That shows the importance of the work that BEL started. Brands need to know what's coming down the road and how to use those new tools to communicate effectively.

"David is trying to connect technological thinking with making. He can think about interesting new technologies that work at 30,000 feet and, with the laboratory, he shows how it works at ground level." Brian Collins, Former Director, Brand Integration Group, Ogilvy

Over the past seven years, we accomplished quite a lot at Brand Experience Lab, including:

* Helping move the experience conversation forward at a time when very few companies were even thinking about their brand experiences and helped many companies explore the role of experience as a part of their marketing strategy.
* Working with a number of companies to help them develop their brand story and their brand experiences.
* Helping introduce a number of emerging technologies at the Lab, including Magic Mirror (the prototype for AudienceGames), Synthetic Interview, directional sound systems and others, to brands and agencies.

I was very fortunate to have played a lead role in the launch of NewsBreaker Live, the first AudienceGames program, with SS+K and msnbc.com, which won a Gold Pencil. I subsequently worked with the Volvo team to bring AudienceGames to the UK, which was called "one of the best marketing ideas in the world" by Brandweek magazine last year and brought AudienceGames to theaters across Poland for Orange. AudienceGames was an excellent example of what we wanted to accomplish at the Lab.

"David's presentations engage the crowd whether they are playing an audience participation game on screen or hearing about new technologies that will help their business. He's always on the cutting edge and he doesn't just deliver a speech - he lives his message." Marcia Tabler, RAMA Consultant

I'm excited as I move toward a new phase of my life. I thank you very much for all of your time, the great conversations and the great projects we've done through BEL in the past. I'm very thankful to have had the opportunity to speak around the world on the future of advertising, brand experiences and emerging technologies. I believe that now, more then ever, you need an authentic, relevant and compelling brand experience to be successful in this economy. I look forward to continuing to work with you in the future and would enjoy assisting you in creating those experiences.

Im a little behind in writing about this, but its a great example of how people can use social media to get their stories out. As of July 21st, 2009, this video had 3,547,771 views, but thats only part of the story. Doing a google search, I get 3,140,000 results. Bing comes up with even more results. Sadly, searching on a United response to United Breaks Guitars, doesnt really come up with much. In fact, the video response from Taylor Guitars (see below) actually comes up 1st in that search. And if you look at the videos or articles about this video, youll see very little, maybe no, support for United. Not a lot of folks saying _"Sorry they broke your guitar, but hey, they get a lot of luggage to the right place without damage."_ Nope, most people say "Yea, they screwed up and they shouldve done better." And those are the nice comments.
So now United is faced with a dilemma of how to respond. Of course, we all know that theyre only trying to resolve the situation now because of all of the bad press they got. They lost my luggage for 4 days between LA and San Francisco and after fighting with them for over a week, I just gave up. Guess I shouldve learned to play the guitar! But since we know that fixing the problem wasnt their first reaction by a long-shot, were not really going to think that they _really_ want t help fix problems in the future.
The FIX FOR UNITED IS A TOTAL OVERHAUL OF THEIR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TRAINING. And it has to start way up at the top. And the people up at the top need to really believe that creating the very best guest experience possible and taking customer complaints seriously is priority number 1. Thats the problems brands have today. Put on a little band aid, fix it while people are watching and then get back to business as usual, and youll see your business erode. We just dont have the time for bad experiences any more.
Taylor Guitars responds
Download _Tripping Over Technology_. You can read about my United experience from as few years back. It was probably 5 years before I flew United again and only because they were the airline partner for a client.
Smashed guitar, YouTube song — United is listening now - Travel - LATimes.com.

I was very excited to be the guest on Trey Penningtons Social Media Professor radio show this morning. We talked a great deal about the importance of brand stories and how social media can really enhance an authentic dialogue with your audience. One key thought that we discussed was that:

TECHNOLOGY SHOULD ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE, NOT REPLACE IT.

We also talked a lot about the importance of sharing your story internally and making sure that your team is all telling the same story. Trey made an excellent point about how _having a great story is like having a compass that guides you through all of the decisions you make_. Liked that thought a lot.
So, you can click on the link below to hear the entire interview, which runs about 25 minutes. Ive also included two articles I wrote about storytelling that might also be of interest to you. Trey does a great show, so if youve never listened to it before, make sure you check out his program. He covers a lot of great information there.
Radio Program with David Polinchock of New York :: Social Media Professor.
Download _Are You Telling a Great Story_Download _Are you Just Hunting_

We seem to be having some technical difficulty with our hosting company that will not be resolved until Monday, so you will not be able to access the Brand Experience Lab web site or send mail to me there. In the meantime, please e-mail me at polinchock@gmail.com if you need me and I'll get back to you there. Have a Happy 4th of July weekend!

Kevin Slavin, Area Code. Always one of my favorite speakers! Heimet, German word kind of like your home or the place you belong. Nostlagia was defined by Hoffer if mid-1600s and was originally a sharp diagnosis that was about soldiers who missed their homes and it was a step before suicide.
Now, nostagia has moved from spatial to temporal. This is due in large part to the fact that were not moving as much. In 2005, 84% of Americans didnt have a passport. 57% will live in their own state/city.
Kevins work is now what connects the physical to the digital. Showing a game by NYU students called Payphone Warriors where you play the game using phone booths on the streets of NYC. Also talking about a game called Plunder that uses your real world locations to map you onto virtual islands. Dislocate, defamiliarizeand re-enchant.
Ben Cerveny, Strategist at Stamen & Founder of Vurb. Cities are collecting a lot of information and were exploring how to curate all of the information thats available. The Medium is the Metropolis. The city is already shaped by information. Early newspapers told more about what was arriving by ship and the merchants would reformat what they had based on what was arriving via the ships
Initially, this information came from central place. Now citizens are now information makers. All cities have a cloud of information above them. 21st century cities will be collaboratively produced. Right now, contextual basis of city occurs when we walk through the physical space. What happens when the physical objects of a city become transformable. We go from social computing to social objects to social environments. Next step will be participatory urbanism. Some interesting information about how merchants in Amsterdam would have a large window on street level that would show what they had brought in on their ships. So you might set up a room in your house and show coffee beans if you just received a coffee shipment. Commerce & living were in the same place, not separated like it is today.
Interesting conversations and some really cool work starting in this area. More to come Im sure.
Sent wirelessly from Nokia 9500 & T-Mobile

Carolien Gehrels, Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam. They have a great program called "breathing spaces" that connects vacant spaces with artists, entrepreuners, etc. Having recently been there, I can attest to the fact that they really do use their spaces in interesting ways.
Russel Shorto, NY Times Magazine, author "Island at the Center of the World." Discussing the history of New York and Henry Hudsons exploration of what is now the Hudson River. Hudson was actually trying to find a way to the far east and, although that didnt work, his exploration of the Hudson got people in Amsterdam to want to come and explore & create New Amsterdam. Due to their tolerance of many different cultures & backgrounds, many Dutch cities had very mixed ethnic groups and their tolerance was brought to NY as well.
With the Waag Society and 7scenes, the created a trading game for students in both Amsterdam & NY to play a game together. The game is at www.playtheisland.org and will be live on September 12th.
Sent wirelessly from Nokia 9500 & T-Mobile

Just getting started at the Picnic Salon here at the New Museum and right now, theyre having some internet issues. Thankfully, Ive got my trusty Nokia 9500, so Ill still get some posts up during the day.Were getting an overview of our topics right now and seeing some cool demos of real time, location based programs. One was www.mynameise.com which I think Ive covered before. But Ill certainly get some more info since the creator is here. Also just saw some cool demos of real time, motion-controlled editing experiences call SenS IV. Once I get back online, Ill include links and videos of each of the experiences.
Im really looking forward to the discussion about how these emerging technologies, including augmented reality, RFID, etc., can fundementally change how we interact with the world around us. Patrick Morehead and I touched on some of the issues of ubiqitious computing suring our session at SXSW and Ill get that up online as well.
http://personal-kyoto.org allows you to access your ConEd account and then learn how you can better use your energy consumption. You can go to http://eyebeam.org/research/sustainability to learn more about the work that theyre doing to explore how to create a more sustainable city. Eyebeam is doing some cool work in a variety of tech areas and theyre well worth some time on their web site if you dont know them already. Really like their work at windowfarms.org, to show folks in an urban environment can grow their own food.
Getting ready to now break down into our groups and Ill cover those sessions later.
Sent wirelessly from Nokia 9500 & T-Mobile

Theyve announced the summer concert series here in Montclair at Brookdale Park, so if youre looking for something fun & cheap on a Friday night, this is it! Weve gone to many of these concerts and we always have a great time. Its a picnic dinner, kids running around and good music under the stars. What more could you ask for? Well certainly be at the July 2nd show and Im really psyched to see Chuck Mangione as well. If youre in Essex County, NJ, youll find a concert nearby. If youre going to go, let us know and well look for you there.
Here are the dates for Brookdale Park. Other locations & acts can be found by downloading the full summer schedule.
* July 2 7:30pm New Jersey Symphony Orchestra & Fireworks
* July 10 7:30pm The Duprees
* July 17 7:30pm The Stylistics
* July 24 7:30pm Hotel California – A Salute to the Eagles
* July 31 7:30pm Chuck Mangione
* August 7 7:30pm Orleans
* August 14 7:30pm The Infernos
Download the full concert schedule

Im very excited to be a part of the PICNIC Salon being held here in NYC next week. Amsterdam is one of my very favorite cities and its events like PICNIC that help make Amsterdam the creative city it is. My experience at PICNIC two years ago introduced me to some great work being done around the world and I certainly look forward to attending PICNIC again in the future. During this workshop, we are being asked to participate in one of three discussion tables:
* The AUGMENTED CITIES table is all about how our cities can be enriched with virtual services and entertainment that merge with the cityscape and adapt to the ever-changing dynamic of the city and its people. As technology pushes forward new possibilities arise to create new urban services and experiences that engage & stimulate residents in new ways.
* The CONNECTED CITIES table deals with new ways to connect the growing number of city dwellers to the communities that they choose. And not only the people connect - the Internet of Things enables communication with your car, the traffic light & your favorite coffee machine. How to find, meet, bond, collaborate within people & objects who might be around the block or on the other side of the planet. Issues of trust, privacy and information overload compete with efficiency & serendipity. What is needed and what definitely not?
* The SUSTAINABLE CITIES table deals with reducing the ecological footprint of a person, a block, the neighborhood and the city. With new visualizations & techniques we can expose patterns & suggest new ones to facilitate a new lifestye. But this change itself needs to be sustainable and this is more difficult to achieve. Bottom-up merges with top-down strategies when we provide the platforms, not the applications, that help people to help themselves. What can we learn & what should we do?
If you have any questions or thoughts that youd like me to share with the groups, please leave them for me as comments here and Ill make sure to post them to the appropriate group. Ill also be blogging from the event and make sure that I get the discussions up as theyre happening. Im sure that it will be a very provocative and inspiring day. Look for #picnicsalon to follow me on Twitter on Monday.

PICNIC Salon New York is a gathering of world-class creatives, brand innovators, thought-leaders and city officials from both Amsterdam and New York. This high-level networking event is a unique opportunity to reinforce our cross-cultural relationships, make new contacts, and further creative and commercial collaboration between the two cities.
PICNIC Salon New York is a one-day event that will offer a taste of the PICNIC 09 program, including a special presentation from the Green Challenge, as well as a Creative Workshop & Brainstorm session with leading innovators from Amsterdam and New York. Featured speakers include Russell Shorto, author, contributing writer for the New York Times and Director of the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam and Carolien Gerhels, Deputy Major of Amsterdam.

Five years ago today, my Dad passed away. While he had been sick for a long time, it was still a surprise when he died and it seemed like it all happened pretty suddenly. I still miss him every day and especially when things are going rough. He was a lot of fun, although I may not have known it at the time. I think of all of the times that he dragged me to do things with him and how much I sometimes resented it at the time. _Couldnt I play with my friends instead of helping work on the car_, I remember thinking back then. Now Im grateful for the time that I had with him. Or maybe Im hoping that Sydney feels good about all of the time I drag her to things.
We always had a lot of fun with my Dad. Well, maybe not always, but hey, who did really always have a great time with their folks! But a lot of times, we had a great time. He was a depression era child, and he brought that into his life for sure. There were things that just didnt happen in our house, we certainly didnt do things very extravagantly. But dont let that sound like a negative.
There were a lot of laughs in our house and our house was almost always a focal point of the neighborhood. We had an above ground pool and in the summer, our house was the frequent center for everyone. We had lots of pool parties and fueled by Uncle Toms mystery jungle juice, we had a lot of bbqs when the adults decided it was easier to stay at our house then go home and cook. And, in the winter, my Dad would flood the back yard and wed turn in into a skating rink. No jungle juice then, but we still had lots of fun!
Our house was always open for whoever stopped by and it seemed like there were always people there. I wish I had a bigger place now so I could open my house like my parents did. The spirit of hospitality that my parents showed us growing up has stayed with me today and Im thankful for that. I hope that well pass that along to Sydney as well, it would be one of the best legacies of my Dad & Mom.
Dad could make me crazy to (something hes already passed along from me to Sydney!). One time, while I was visiting them with Sydney in Florida, I lost the car keys at a concert and it took me a long time to find them in the field. I got home later then I was expecting and there was my Dad, sitting up & ready to give me a lecture about being late. I think that I was 42 and he was still lecturing me about things like that.
One of my favorite stories of Sydney & my Dad actually occurred after my Dads funeral. My father passed away when Sydney was just over 3 years old. My folks lived in Florida, so we didnt see them all the time, but Sydney spoke to my folks on the phone all the time and she has some remarkably strong memories of him. My Dad was sick for about a year before he passed away, but his death was pretty quick & unexpected when it happened. We went down for the funeral and it was Sydneys first time dealing with death, so we tried to keep her calm as much as possible.
After the funeral, Sydney & I went for a walk through their neighborhood, just the 2 of us. Near the end of our walk, she looked up at some clouds and said _"That cloud looks like Grandpa watching down on us."_ She paused and then added _"Or maybe its a goat."_
When we got back to my parents house, I told my Mom what Sydney said and we all had our first laugh of the day.
Another thing from my Dad was that we never, and I mean never, passed a cemetery without my Dad saying _"You know, people are just dying to get in there."_ And its really fun for me that today whenever we pass a cemetery, its Sydney who says that!
In the five years since my Dad has been gone, a lot has happened in my life. But what Im most saddened by is that hes not getting to watch Sydney grow up and become the great kid shes become. Thats the hardest thing for me. Thankfully, my Mom is still around and doing very well and shell be up near us in NJ this summer, so Sydney will get to spend a lot of time with her and her new beau, Bob, who we all like a lot. Were certainly happy to see my Mom happy, thats for sure.
I miss being able to talk to my Dad every Saturday when I walked to meet Kristen & Sydney at work, even if sometimes we only talked about the weather. I miss watching him play with Sydney and how excited she was when she got to fly planes with him on the computer. I miss his sense of fun and his enjoyment of life and I miss just goofing around with him.
So, rest in peace Dad. Im sure that youre arranging all kinds of fun things for people to do in heaven and making sure everyone up there has a good laugh. I know that you look down at us and especially Sydney and you would love the person shes becoming. I miss you.
Sydney & my Dad would play on his flight simulator games for hours!

Tonight, Sydney & I leave for the Marketing Live conference in Utrecht and were both very excited about it. Im going to try and have Sydney do some guest blogging next week, looking at the experiences we have through her eyes and I think thatll be fun for both of us.
One thing thats interesting for me is speaking at a conference when all of the information Ive received is in a foreign, so I dont really get the entire feel for the program. So, I put the front page of the conference into Yahoo and this is what I got back:

Ventures which take the market as a main point perform better. But how do you get that outside world on the internal agenda? Marketeers make the difference by being enterprising. By their ring to stick out. By acting on abdomen feeling. But then you must provide also something. Certainly in these times. Is measure know! Accountability! But weet you now exact what produces your action? Or do you keep that kinder what vague? How you combine two worlds now those:
Good and rockly-hard measure feeling/entrepreneurship what you do? Where does the assessment lie? MarketingLive are event for the strategic marketeer, which want something more than superficial tales. With top participants and the best marketeers of the Netherlands, in the room and on the podium.

When I put it into Google for translation, I end up with this, some slightly different translations:

Companies that market starting to perform better. But how do you do outside world to the domestic agenda? Marketers make the difference by enterprising. By their neck to stabbing. By acting in belly feeling. But then you make something. Especially in these times. Measure is to know! Accountability! But do you know exactly what your actions bring? Or do you prefer vague? How do you combine those two worlds:
Good feeling / entrepreneurship and hard to measure what you do? Where is the balance? Live Marketing is the event for strategic marketers who want something more than superficial stories. With Top speakers and the best marketers in the Netherlands, in the room and on stage.

Just a reminder of how language can change the message and that its really important to remember this when working with a global marketplace!
Well be blogging and tweeting the conference, so check back on Wednesday to see what they have to say about these topics in another part of the world. And please let me know if youre going to be there or youre in Amsterdam and well make sure to get together!
Marketing Live | Hoe maakt u als marketeer het verschil?.

Apple stores are always high on the list of revenue producers, but this does seem pretty high even for them. Whatever the actual number (if $440 million isnt accurate), they certainly have been doing great numbers at retail. As we covered earlier at Experience Manifesto: Economy isnt slowing Apples building plans - USATODAY.com, theyre going all out to both add stores and re-do existing stores and continue to enhance their retail experiences. I for one will be looking forward to what they do with their redesign. I have some thoughts if anyone from Apple wants to talk.

Apples two largest New York City retail stores are now known to be some of the towns largest retail cash cows, with the 5th Avenue flagship alone having drawn in $440 million in one year.
Upon looking at prospectuses showing the value of various properties in New York Citys most important shopping district, the New York Post discovered the iconic stores extremely high yearly revenue and noted that it was much higher than some other stores along 5th Avenue. Clothing boutique chain Zaras store just a few blocks south, for example, is believed to take in just $25 million per year.
Location is said to play a significant part for the store, which is located directly at the corner of Central Park, but isnt regarded as the only factor. Apples SoHo store is located much further south in Manhattan but still collected $100 million in annual revenue, or four times the clothiers performance. Tourism is thought to contribute to the large the difference between the two Apple locations.

If you haven’t seen this piece by Allison Arieff and youre in the mall business, you should certainly be taking a look. Many of the things we’ve been talking about for years are things that people are just now exploring. The key take away is that the business model of the big mall needs to change, both from a back-end and a front end.
I think that back in 2005, iTunes became the 7th or 8th largest music store in the United States. Think about that. They have no real estate, at least none dedicated specifically to iTunes, and carry no inventory. They dont have to pay for sales staff or worry about returns. And if you look at the typical Apple store, _a great deal of its space is dedicated to social functions, not traditional retail functions_. Now, if youre a large record store chain, this has got to be a huge challenge. Youve got all of this real estate dedicated primarily of the inventory management of music and yet more and more people are buying their music online.
Whats always interesting to me is that people in one industry can look at another and say _"How can they not see that every things changed and they need to change"_ without looking internally at their own industry. We think that mall developers need to look at their business model in addition to the redesign on the physical space. Many work on a rent + a percentage of sales model, but will that still play in a world where people do more window shopping in the mall and more actual buying online? And, as we ask retail clients all the time, what happens to your retail space if you take away inventory management? Look what I said back in 2006:

So, if the retail space might become more of a showroom and if people don’t mind shopping and having their purchases drop shipped, then what’s the impact on the real estate itself? We see it becoming a much more vibrant and alive social space. A place for people to gather and share their experiences through the brand, rather then sharing their experiences of the brand. Look at the Apple store. Lots of people talking to one another. The theatres where you can learn together as a community. Even the Genius Bar. It’s much more of a social space.
So, what is the value of real estate for retailers today? Does a record store really need to exist as its been for the past 40+ years? Or banks, grocery stores, fashion retailers? If, thanks to the internet, people are much more comfortable getting their purchases sent to them, rather then getting them right away, do we need that much space dedicated to merchandise? So, if we can do away with the inventory portion of most retail spaces today, what else would you do with the space? How could you make it a much more social environment, rather then being a retail environment? After all, this is exactly why places like Starbucks or the Apple stores have boomed -- they created a social space, rather then a retail space.

Had a conversation recently with some friends a few weeks ago and we were talking about the economy and everything happening. A couple of us thought that if this was a really hot summer, people would be looking to places like malls to stay cool and keep their own a/c costs down. If I can walk around the local mall for a few hours on a weekend, I wont have to run my own a/c and that will save me money. Were already seeing people go to the movies more, its a pretty good entertainment value these days.
Heres what Allison thought was the best entry:

Malls will not only generate sales, they will “grow food, create crafts, manufacture products, generate energy, and provide education.” As an antidote to time spent online, argue the CommArts folks, the mall becomes a social center, a “spectacle of hands-on demos, lectures, performances, classes, tastings, parties, and shows.” Further, the national sameness we now experience (Gap? Check. Victoria’s Secret? Check.) will morph into something more one-off, more local, more cause-oriented.
Utopic? Perhaps, but with dried-up financing, minimal consumer demand and the Chapter 11 filing last month by the second largest mall-operator in the country, it’s time to think differently. So bravo to ICSC for holding this competition in the first place. We’ve seen tremendous shopping innovation with online retailers specializing in uniqueness and craft like etsy, sustainable materials and business practices like Nau or customer service like Zappo’s; now it’s time for that innovation to hit the strip. And not just the Vegas one.
In fact, I’ve already seen something akin to Crossroads City implemented on a neighborhood scale. The Ainsworth Collective, a group of some 50 households in Portland, Oregon’s Cully neighborhood that came together out of a mutual interest in sustainability and community, have created a micro-economy within their few square blocks. They’ve published a directory of services provided by neighbors (from tax preparation to massage services to cat-sitting), encouraging local transactions. They’ve instituted tool-sharing, car-sharing, bulk food-purchasing and even own a farmer’s market that sells produce, baked goods and other items made by its members. There may always be mega-malls, but developers and architects would be remiss in not exploring grassroots solutions like this.

But, while people look at Starbucks or the Apple stores and say "Yea, thats great for them, but it doesnt apply to me," theyre missing a huge opportunity today. I THINK THERES A COMING TREND TO SOCIALIZE THE RETAIL ENVIRONMENT INSTEAD OF JUST MERCHANDISING THE REAL ESTATE SPACE. And the more we try to use the space for our purposes rather then our guests, the more theyll stay away...
CommArts Entry
Hobbs + Black Entry
Colman Architects
Rethinking the Mall - Allison Arieff Blog - NYTimes.com.

Ive decided that its time to get out more and hit the speaking circuit more then I already do. Im in Utrecht next week at Marketing Live | Hoe maakt u als marketeer het verschil? and I really enjoy the opportunity to get out, meet new people and engage in the conversation about the future. And I usually get very good feedback on my presentations as well.
Mort Goldstrom, from the Newspaper Association of America had this to say about my presentation:

These days, many of us are so focused on the day to day that we lose sight of the incredible need to focus on future possibilities. David Polinchock makes you see the world through a different set of lenses and imagine new ways to think and grow. The endless opportunities for business growth spew from this man’s incredible creative mind in unimaginable ways. He is a talent you simply have to experience.

And Marcia Tabler, RAMA Consultant, has these kind words:

David’s presentations engage the crowd whether they are playing an audience participation game on screen or hearing about new technologies that will help their business. He’s always on the cutting edge and he doesn’t just deliver a speech - lives his message.

Generally, I speak about:
* Emerging trends, especially as they relate to technology
* Innovation
* The role of experience
* The future of advertising
* Emerging From a Recession with Emerging Media
* The Invisible Web and Ubiquitous Computing
* Ive also frequently brought some examples of cool technologies with me, including AudienceGames, interactive cell phone games and augmented reality.
Ive also done a number of experience walking tours around Manhattan and other locations. With advance planning, I can custom design a walking tour for you and your location, just let me know what you need.
In the past, I have spoken on the future of marketing in South America, the World Summit of Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Oman and across the country at industry events including SXSW, Cannes Lions, the Experiential Marketing Summit in Sydney, PICNIC in Amsterdam, GlobalShop, Ad Age Digital, The Retail Advertising Conference, ARM Expo, PROMO Live, PMA, the Virginia Healthcare Marketing Association and many POPAI events. Clients who have engaged me have included Razorfish, Microsoft, msnbc.com, MTV Networks, the Newspaper Association of America, Nokia, GSK, Pepsi, Nike, Ogilvy and the Custom Content Conference.
I have also taught classes for FIT, NYU, Columbia and Montclair State University, among others.
If youre interested in having me speak at your event, drop me an e-mail and we can check dates, explore content and discuss fees. I would like to help you see the _world through a different set of lenses and imagine new ways to think and grow_.
Download Current Polinchock Speaking BioDownload Emerging-From-RecessionDBP

The long rumored motion controller for the XBox 360 was announced yesterday and so far everyone seems pretty psyched with it. Much like our AudienceGames In-Cinema Experience, they are using motion capture to make you the game controller. Of course, Project Natal is a lot more advanced then what weve been doing in cinema, where we have look at a whole audience of people, and they also added facial & voice recognition, which should add some really cool experience options to what theyre doing.
Were just at the beginning of see a entirely new way to engage the computer, in this case for gaming. After all, the QWERTY keyboard that we use today was really created back in the late 1800s and it really is time for a new interface. And in terms of games, both at home and in arcades, this kind of technology will continue what Wii started by bringing in people who might not have been game players before, as well as create new forms of game experiences that we havent even thought of yet.
REMEMBER, IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT MULTITOUCH, YOU CAN JOIN US TOMORROW NIGHT AT MULTITOUCH MAVEN at the Clo Wine Bar at the Time Warner Center at 7.
Looking around this morning, heres some of the coverage Project Natal received:
Dave Rudden over at GamePro got a demo of Natal and wrote about it at Preview : Milo, Burnout, and Balls: Body-on with Project Natal [Xbox 360] - from GamePro.com.

My first taste of Natal was Ricochet, the hyper-active block-breaking game, demoed by the face of Natal and former Fight Night developer, Kudo Tsunoda. Kudo gave us a brief intro and showed us the ropes before letting the press serve up some damage. I didnt quite get as active as the hyperactive Microsoft employee, or even the surprisingly nimble Kudo, but my first taste of Natal served as proof-this device works. It recognized how far I was from the TV, and limb and head movements were almost instantaneously recognized on TV. Plus, the game once again rocked Ratatat on the soundtrack-theyre a very gaming-influenced instrumental band that are definitely work checking out.

So is Project Natal Microsofts answer to the Wii-mote?
"And beyond, yeah," said Forrester principal analyst Paul Jackson. "Obviously, weve all got, in the game industry...a huge debt to pay to Nintendo for shaking things up a bit with the Wii, and for moving beyond the 37 button controller. This is taking things to the next extreme. Because even with the Wii, you still have (several) buttons, start and select. Its still a physical controller."
Added Jackson, Project Natal looks likely to "remove that final barrier between you sitting in your room and...whats on your screen."

They also got a good quote from Steven Spielberg:

"Ive been asking the crucial question: how can interactive entertainment become as approachable as other forms of entertainment?" Spielberg said. "The vast majority of people are just too intimidated to pick up a video game controller...Despite the size of (the video game) industry, still 60 percent of households do not own a video game console...The only way to bring interactive entertainment to everybody is to make it invisible." (BTW, heres what I said in 95 -- _The first lesson for using any technology in marketing, he says, is to make the technology invisible and work on the content, not forgetting that people like to have fun._ Not only do I sometimes look like him, Im just as smart, damn it!)

What makes this so damned cool is that it lets you do more than just play games with it. You can also move through menus by swiping your hands back and forth. The camera allows for fun features like facial and voice recognition. When you have it running, your Xbox will recognize your face and sign you in automatically.
You can start to imagine the possibilities already. Everything from Minority Report style menu control to Dance Dance Revolution games that require you to actually dance rather than just hit buttons to videoconferencing in your living room, the thing just feels like the future. And it already makes the Wii seem like a gimpy and outdated piece of tech. Theres no way it can touch what this will do.

Was using the Google search timeline function (which is pretty cool, BTW) and came across this article from 1995. I said some pretty smart things, if I do say so myself! And this was really a fun gig to work on, kinda miss my event days sometimes.

"When Joe six-pack can sit on his sofa," a delegate at Apple Computers recent New Media conference in Los Angeles, said, "with Cindy Crawford in one arm, perhaps for $2.99 an hour, virtual reality will make crack look like decaffeinated coffee. "
Virtual reality., with its 3D picture of a made-up world, is a godsend in persuasion, since it provides the user with his own path through an information universe. But are advertisers ready for virtual reality as a marketing tool yet?
Virtual reality can be a simple three-dimensional world on a computer screen, through which the customer moves using the keyboard or a joystick. Or it might be "immersive", requiring a headset that displays a panoramic world. Either way, objects on the screen can be viewed, queried, selected or bought.
J. Walter Thompson took up the virtual-reality theme in a Kit Kat commercial this year. The films director, Matt Forrest, set the action in a virtual-reality shopping mall, which a character flies through on a hi-tech magic carpet looking for a snack. "Sooner or later, someone was going to do a virtual-reality ad," the JWT creative director, Jaspar Shelbourne, says. "And I am very pleased JWT got there first."
Involvement is important, but a more measurable facet of interactive media is the feedback it offers on how a product is perceived. By letting a potential customer drive a "virtual car", for instance, the manufacturer can find out how attractive it is before the car is even built, perhaps giving the customer a discount guarantee if they commit to buying at such a nearly stage.
From her base in California, Aimee Rosewall, an independent marketing consultant, has watched virtual-reality technology develop. She sees it as a fragile extension of the traditional one-to-one selling relationship. "Rather than coming and talking at you, I can involve you in my message." she explains. "The problem with the way most modern technology is handled in marketing is that it is too complicated, or expects too much from people to make it happen. The danger is you have customers who are more confused than they were at the beginning."
One of the most impressive virtual-reality marketing applications to date is the Cutty Sark rum stand. currently touring the US. Rosewall helped Anheuser-Busch put the project together with the New York-based tour managers, CyberEvent. A visitor to the stand wears a headset while sitting on a small wooden bench with a boats tiller in one hand.
In this virtual world, they experience the voyages of Captain William McCoy as he sailed his rum around the world. Steering the ship with the tiller, the Cutty Sark -- with brand name prominent -- is guided into harbour. On either side, other rum traders unload their products and, the soundtrack explains, water down their rum before selling it. Captain McCoy insisted on keeping his rum pure and, in doing so, coined the phrase "the real McCoy".
Dave Polinchock, the president of CyberEvent, thinks the Cutty Sark campaign is successful simply because it does not confuse the brand with the technology. Early experiments with virtual reality made a point of showing off the latest state-of-the art developments, but campaign managers found they were outshining the very product they were supposed to sell. "In the early 90s, people were using virtual reality as the story, rather than using it to tell the story," Polinchock says.
THE FIRST LESSON FOR USING ANY TECHNOLOGY IN MARKETING, HE SAYS, IS TO MAKE THE TECHNOLOGY INVISIBLE AND WORK ON THE CONTENT, NOT FORGETTING THAT PEOPLE LIKE TO HAVE FUN. (Emphasis mine)
And entertainment is one of the three core values Paul Holt at CIA Interactive puts forward for virtual reality. As a consultant to British Telecoms ICE (Information, Communications and Entertainment) project, which is researching how to deliver commercial services into peoples homes, Holt sees the technology providing a new angle, but it remains secondary to the message. "Inform, communicate and entertain. As long as you do one of those, youll be fine," he says.
There are some significant obstacles to using virtual reality, not least the fact that badly understood technology results in an uncertain message being communicated to the user. Over-complicated technologies, or computers for their own sake, promote technophobia and turn people away from the message.
To this end, Holt suggests that anyone considering virtual reality should be thoroughly familiar with two-dimensional interactive media, such as the Internet, before moving into three. Learning to be creative with the online medium is a valuable lesson in how to construct a path around information that would be too dense in a linear format. The user must also be able to retreat still carrying a clear image of the brand.
Its obvious really. Polinchock uses what is becoming a wellknown metaphor in North American marketing: "IF YOU WENT TO A BOOK CONFERENCE AND SAID YOU THOUGHT CONTENT WAS IMPORTANT, THEYD LOOK AT YOU AS IF YOU WERE A MORON. YET WERE TALKING LIKE CONTENT IS SOMETHING NEW." (Emphasis mine)
Europe has an especially reserved approach to cutting-edge technology. Rosewall thinks it could be an advantage: "Europe will take a different route, and a little reservation could be beneficial. America is always pushing for the new, but faster may not be the answer anymore."
This is not a warning to keep away, however. "Mix the technologies," she says. "You cant just invest in one technology because youll miss someone, and that doesnt make business sense."
COPYRIGHT 1995 Haymarket Business Publications Ltd.

Our friends over at Empire Force Events have put together a quick video with a simple message. Its about_ being in person_, designed to help the somewhat battered, meeting industry. Just a few weeks ago, my good buddy Dave Peters from Absolute Amusements was telling me that the industry trades were talking about how events cant be about fun any more and we both had a good laugh about that. I mean next week is InternetWeek here in NYC and I can tell you theres about a million cocktail parties happening. Well, maybe not a million, but a lot. Since my days helping do events for the old NYNMA, Ive always laughed about how often wed go to cocktail parties to talk about how well be communicating online and all.
With all of the corporate financial troubles lately, a number of companies have had to cancel events at the last minute. Of course, canceling a meeting at the last minute actually costs more then it would to just have the meeting, but why let logic interfere when politicians can make a grand standing point about how they helped get a meeting canceled and saved us money. Its all ridiculous and its costing the event industry money and jobs. So making Wells Fargo cancel an event just a few days before it was supposed to happen not only didnt save any money, but probably resulted in people losing their jobs. How does that help the economy?
So I liked the simple message here. Life happens _in person_.

Even thought their sales were down 3%, Apple is still investing in its retail strategy. Why, because they know its the way to really connect with their customers. Got to any more where theres an Apple store and more often then not, that Apple store will be the most crowded store in the mall. Not only are the usually pretty full of customers, but they also have more staff per square foot then any other retailer out there. Well, it looks that way.
We think theyve created a social shopping experience and said this back in 2006:
Heres what we think the Apple store is all about: They took the barriers to entry to buying an Apple product and answered those barriers with the store. Again, this is only our take, nothing official from Apple here! And how does that work?
* First barrier to entry has been price in the past, although that has certainly changed. But with a higher priced product, what did Apple do? Create a store environment thats as beautiful to look at as their product. Give people the comfort that theyre buying something of value.
* Number two barrier to entry? People dont want to learn a new operating system. Now, us Apple folks say _Hey, Microsoft stole the operating system from Mac years ago_, but the store takes away that concern. Afraid of learning a new system? No problem, well teach you. Come to our classroom (the theatre) or visit the Genius Bar and well help you. Learning something new is a big hassle for most people and this is a way cool way to make it less of a hassle. Sure, there are things that I cant figure out how to do, so I just make an appointment and get their help. I dont have the time to figure it out myself, so why not let them teach me or just take care of it quickly.
* Make it a social experience. Although I havent been to the new store here in NYC at 3 AM, I can bet that a good number of other people have. No matter when you go to the Apple store here in Soho, its always crowded and its got an almost club-like vibe.
Theyre also investing in the downturn. So, while many (if not lost) retail companies are scaling back, closing stores and letting people go, Apple is growing theirs. They understand that in a down economy, its even more important to find ways to create the right experience to connect with your audience. And, the Apple stores have been a great connection point. I still dont understand why more retailers are not looking for ways to create their own genius bars! Are you listening Whole Foods? Because, I still Need a Whole Foods Genius Bar!

Apple (AAPL) isnt letting the recession slow its retail ambitions.
The company said Wednesday that it plans to remodel 100 of its stores this year, to make more room for customer training and displayed products. Additionally, it will open 25 new stores, including a fourth location in New York City, and new ones in Paris, Italy and Germany.
"We know that a lot of people are cutting back, but were doing the opposite," says Ron Johnson, Apples senior vice president of retail. "WERE INVESTING IN THE DOWNTURN." (Emphasis mine)
The company, which saw a 3% decline in sales of Apple computers in the most recent quarter, plans face-lifts for older stores to emphasize customer-service programs.
SOME 170 MILLION FOLKS VISIT APPLE STORES YEARLY. (Emphasis mine)